An ex-commando is now crafting personal fitness plans based on your DNA

Steffan Fung, the 38-year-old founder and CEO of Elxr (pronounced “elixir”), a mobile app that provides customized fitness training programs based on one’s DNA type, credits his ability to overcome the challenges of running a startup to the hardships he endured as a commando in the Singapore Armed Forces.

For example, during the training stint known as Hell Week, he had to go five days without sleep while undergoing strenuous exercises like a route march, sea swim, and live firing. “Special Ops training teaches you about grit and determination, about never giving up to work towards mission success,” Fung tells Tech in Asia.

Steffan Fung, CEO of Elxr / Photo credit: Steffan Fung

After a 17-year stint in the army, he left to establish Superfit, his own sports training company. Fung’s grit was soon put to the test: he suffered a blow when his business partner decamped to set up a rival business and took all of Superfit’s clients. “I had to start from zero again,” he says. “My army training helped me in the dark times of my startup journey. You learn to suck it up and carry on.”

One lesson he learned from this setback was to pick the right business model. Clients ditched Superfit because they wanted Fung to be their trainer, but he wasn’t available because of time constraints. “If you’re a personal trainer and you want to have a hundred clients, you need to work a hundred hours,” he points out.

This motivated Fung to find an approach that would allow him to hit the large numbers without being held back by time restrictions. So he explored using technology to scale his fitness business, and this, in turn, led to the birth of Elxr.

But another problem bothered Fung. As a fitness enthusiast and sports entrepreneur, he noticed a trend – people can go through the same exercise program but outcomes can vary.

“In the army, you eat the same food, do the same training exercises, get the same amount of rest. But each soldier has different results,” Fung says. “I did research into this and found out it was because we are all genetically different, so the same training will yield different outcomes.”

A cheaper way to keep fit

With that insight, Fung launched Elxr in August 2018. The startup claims to offer the first DNA-based fitness training system in Asia.

While Fung declined to reveal any details about investors in his company, it recently completed a six-week accelerator program in Kobe, Japan, run by global incubator 500 Startups. Elxr was one of the 20 startups chosen out of 237 applicants last year, and it was the only Singaporean company in the batch.

Singaporean startups associated with the 500 Startups brand include Carousell and Grab. To date, Elxr has sold 100 DNA test kits and has a recurring revenue of US$2,000 a month, with double-digit growth month on month.

Getting fit is a certainly a growing trend: fitness centers in the Asia-Pacific region served around 22 million people and generated a combined revenue of about US$16.8 billion in 2017, according to a recent industry report that focused on 14 markets. Citing data from this research, Fung says Elxr is targeting fitness fans in the Lion City and hopes to become a part of their lifestyle.

Photo credit: Elxr

How it works